Genealogy

Who do you think you are? Books, guides & resources...

Family in Kāpiti

Each library contains materials about the history and people of the Kāpiti Coast. You can find more about your family through resources in the Heritage Collection. The Heritage Collection includes photographs, books, audiovisual material, school magazines, jubilee publications, journals, archives and local history files.

Ancestry.com

Ancestry Library Edition is a subscription database available free on library computers. It is the largest family history site online with 400 billion names worldwide.

Full access to the Ancestry Library Edition is available in the library, via the APNK (Aotearoa People’s Network Kaharoa) public computers homepage.

As of 1 January 2022, Ancestry is no longer available at home. 

Births, Deaths & Marriages

On the Births, Deaths & Marriages website, you can search New Zealand Government records for births, deaths and marriages (BDM).

The historic data available for you to search is limited so that information relating to people who might still be alive, can be protected. Information available includes:

• Births that occurred at least 100 years ago
• Stillbirths that occurred at least 50 years ago
• Marriages and eventually Civil Unions that occurred 80 years ago
• Deaths that occurred at least 50 years ago or where the deceased's date of birth was at least 80 years ago.

New Zealand Society of Genealogists

The Kāpiti Branch of New Zealand Society of Genealogists (NZSG) holds its resources at the Alison Procter Family Research Centre at Paraparaumu Library. The Ōtaki Branch of NZSG holds its resources at Ōtaki Library.

To access these resources you must be a member of either the Kāpiti or Ōtaki NZSG branches. Non-members are welcome to use the collections at both libraries on a Wednesday between 10-12pm when an NZSG member is on duty.

Resources include:

• New Zealand Gazette - the official newspaper of Government covering such things as land transfers, bankruptcies, business proceedings etc.
• Births, Deaths and Marriages - microfiche
• Electoral Rolls from 1853 to present
• Family History Newsletters from overseas
• New Zealand Cemetery Records - microfiche
• Wises Post Office Directories